French 'anti-Muslim' principal expelled from Qatar

Accused of displaying an "anti-Muslim attitude", the headmaster of the Bonaparte French School of Doha, Qatar has been forced to leave the country. He is the second head of a French school in Qatar to be fired in the last year.

In early September, Hafid Adnani, then-headmaster of the Bonaparte French School of Doha, was sent packing, making him the second French high school principal to be fired and asked to leave the country within the last year.

According to an article published on French news site Mediapart on Friday, Adnani was arrested following a disagreement with the financial director of the school, who accused him of lying about the degrees he had earned – and of having an “anti-Muslim attitude”.

Adnani was released with the help of the French embassy in Qatar, and told to leave the country as soon as possible. He returned to France on September 8, leaving his family behind. The French Foreign Ministry told Agence France-Presse that Adnani’s departure was “a compromise” reached with the Qatari authorities in exchange for the former headmaster’s release.

In late 2012, Franck Choinard, the headmaster of the Voltaire French School, was also forced to leave the country after he was accused of paedophilia (allegations he has continued to deny). According to the French press, the problem really stemmed from a disagreement over the history and natural sciences curriculum, pitting the Qatari authorities against the secular board that used to run the school.